O'pain Software Foundation: (2) Why is it better than AT&T?

[Scott Schwartz]

In article <3c3a336e.13422 at apollo.uucp> mishkin at apollo.UUCP (Nathaniel Mishkin) writes:
>Perhaps.  At least the new devil is not a competitor.  At least it's starting
>off with a different model of operation about software licensing.  Sure,
>the OSF could turn out to be Godzilla of the software world, but I don't
>expect it to be.  The fur is already showing on AT&T though...

Digital, IBM, and Apollo not competitors?  Wait, I have to sit down...
Anyway, wasn't Godzilla a lizard?  (no hair)  :-) :-)

But seriously, if licensing is the issue, why not just finance the FSF?
That way everyone gets a top notch free unix.  
If input into the standardization process is the issue, why not either
support the FSF, or like Sun, Motorola, and others, join with AT&T?  

I think the real issue is that unix is now (or is going to be, depending
on how you feel) an important force in the computer world, and AT&T
OWNS it.  Competing corporations just can't tolerate something important
that the other guy controls.  No matter what the outcome of the OSF
effort, it just can't be worse that the status quo for the coalition 
members.  If they succeed in promulgating a new standard, they win in
the market.  If they simply slow down unix and promote {VMS,MVS,Aegis...}
then they win in the market.  If nothing comes of it except that they
get a unix clone sans AT&T license restrictions, well at least they are
free of AT&T, and so they win in the market.

>BTW, I object to the various speculation (on the part of several people)
>on the topic of the "ulterior motives" of DEC and IBM.  (No one cares
>about Apollo's ulterior motives, I guess :-)  

Yup.  Says a lot about how people feel about DEC and IBM.  
But why do you object to such speculation?  Truth of accusition is
an acceptable defense against charges of slander.  Unix politics 
aside, the OSF does have all sorts of ulterior motives.  You and I 
are concerned with technical issues, and with promoting things
that benefit the unix community.  The ceo of any given computer company
may or may not share those concerns.  

> Geez.  Talk about white hats and black hats!

Not to mention expensive business suits. 

Can we all go back to being computer scientists now?  Or should
we petition for the creation of comp.unix.mba?


-- 

Scott Schwartz,  schwartz at swarthmore.edu,  psuvax1!vu-vlsi!swatsun!schwartz